Beer

Oskar Blues Brewery’s “Canned Beer Apocalypse”

Although not included in the event’s title, the Alibi will be featuring an outstanding beer garden as part of the free samplings being offered at the Friday, April 6 Fine Wine and Art event. The beer garden will host about 30 craft breweries including Ska, New Belgium and, of course, local favorites Marble, La Cumbre and Blue Heron. Ironically, the beer garden actually became the busiest gathering place at Alibi’s last wine event and our spectacular beer lineup garnered rave reviews from attendees.

This year, one of the nation’s most popular craft breweries, Oskar Blues, will be back to sample their revolutionary canned beer that caused what they refer to as a “Canned Beer Apocalypse” in the industry. This brewery has received countless awards across the nation and is considered by most to be one of the best American beers made. Oskar Blues, which has an enormous cult following in Albuquerque, will be handing out samples of favorite such as Dale’s Pale Ale, Old Chub (a Scottish Ale), Mama’s Little Yella Pils (a Bohemian Pilsner), Ten Fidy (an Imperial Stout) and if we are lucky, they will bring samples of their newly released Deviant Dale’s India Pale Ale, which won the 2011 Great American Beer Festival silver medal behind Albuquerque’s own La Cumbre.

Until Oskar Blues’ Canned Beer Apocalypse, nobody had ever thought of caning craft beer because cans were known to impart a tinny flavor to the delicate product. In 2002, by coating the beer cans’ insides with a water-based coating, the extremely environmentally conscious company was able to spark a revolution with their unique process that made the beer much more portable. The funny thing is that although beer in a can is much more environmentally friendly, the company’s owner, Dale Katechis, actually begin using this canning process because he thought it was hilarious to put his Dale’s Pale Ale which is a bold hoppy ale into a can. Today, a large portion of craft brewers use this canning process to ship and sell their beers and it is believed the cans actually keep the product fresher.

Oskar Blues Brewery, which was originally in Lyons, Colorado and referred to as the Canning Bar, is now located in Longmont, Colorado and includes the state of the art brewery, the Tasty Weasel Tap Room and the Homemade Liquids and Solids Restaurant.